Make it non-veggie

Probably the most widely-used oil in cooking, olive oil is pressed from fresh olives. It's…

Method

Heat oil in a large pan and fry the onion, garlic, carrot and leek until soft but not coloured. Add the tomato purée, chopped tomatoes, butter beans, flageolet beans, cider, stock and thyme and simmer for 15-20 mins until the stew has thickened and the veg are tender.

Meanwhile, if you’re adding sausages to any portion, snip each sausage into 3-4 chunks. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan and brown the chunks for 5 mins, then stir in appropriate portions of the stew and gently simmer for the remaining cooking time. Serve with the mash.

Tip

Cheddar & parsley mash

Peel 850g potatoes, cut into chunks,
and boil in salted water for 15 mins or so
until tender. Drain, return to the pan and
mash with a splash of milk, 25g butter,
75g extra-mature grated cheddar and
a handful of chopped parsley. Season. If you like, put the mash in a heatproof dish, dot with butter and place under grill for a few mins for a golden and crisp finish.

Comments (72)

This is delicious, perfect for a cold winters day. I used 1 huge leek, 2 carrots, 2 large garlic cloves, 1 400g tin of tesco 3 beans in water (45p), added 1 tsp of hot chilli powder, paprika and dried oregano just before adding the beans etc . I used the full amount of cider and stock and then left the stew bubbling for 15 minutes - consistency was perfect. Felt the stew was so good it only needed a parsley (dried) mash. Definitely don't scrimp on the cider - it adds a wonderful apple flavour.

Really pleased with this recipe. Very tasty, went down really well with my usually fussy daughter. Lots of liquid but cooked it down to make a delicious sauce. Cider adds good flavour but isn't entirely necessary. Used low fat sausages as healthier & they're fine cooked in casseroles. Really easy to adapt this recipe to personal tastes.

I love this recipe - I made this yesterday evening .... I didn't add the cider, and substituted the flageolet beans with 2 x tins of 'mixed beans in chilli sauce', and served it with wholemeal wraps (instead of the mash) - absolutely delicious ! Glad I made enough for 2nd and 3rd helpings !

I made this for dinner tonight and thoroughly enjoyed it. I forgot I did not have any cider so instead a made up the extra liquid with stock, and I also added a fair bit of chilli powder to give it some heat, otherwise it may have been a little bland.To change things up and make it even healthier, I used quorn sausages and polenta rather than mash. Very tasty and filling, looking forward to leftovers for lunch tomorrow!

I'm a part-time veggie (around one day a week I may eat chicken or fish) though my partner is (adamantly) a non-veggie, so I'm always looking for recipes that I can make and then add in meat for his dish. This is perfect - adding sausages for the other half. I cooked to the recipe but didn't find it bland at all. Tasty and filling in fact. Though being a lover of paprika I think I may follow MichaeltheGreat's tip of adding paprika and bay leaves.

Love love love this recipe! Fantastic hearty winter dish with plenty of veg and protein. Substituted the flageolet beans for kidney beans but I think this recipe would work with any kind of bean. Didn't have any cider so just added more stock and it was still lovely. Served with sausages and the cheddar and parsley mash, definitely a winner!

This recipie is literally amazing! Deicious. I made the mash too which was pefect with it. Even my kids and partner who usually turns his nose up at my veggie food. ( he aded the sausages) loved it. I couldn't get hold of the dry cider and didn't want to use strongbow so added a good glug of red wine and dry thyme but it came out great. I wish I'd made double!

This was a very tasty meal. I don't like butter beans and we are hearty eaters so I replaced the 200g butter beans with 400g kidney beans which added even more colour and texture. Best served with a green vegetable too.

Really lovely stew. Took on board some of the comments and added a stick odf celery an extra garlic clove, a bay leaf and a pinch of paprika. Also added a teaspoon of English mustard to the cheddar mash. Thoroughly enjoyed it and will be cooking again. I didn't think there was any need for meet or veggie sausages.

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